A man, simply identified as Obinna, has lost his life while sleeping in his apartment during a fire incident in the Iyana-Ipaja area of Lagos State.

The Lagos State Police Command spokesperson, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident to newsmen on Sunday in Lagos.

He said that the incident happened on Saturday at 7:30 p.

Hundeyin said that the Oke-Odo Division received a distress call from a resident of the house concerning the incident.

“After a distress call was received, the Divisional Police Officer immediately visited the scene with operatives of the division.

“Fire service was contacted on phone and by the time the fire was put out, a tenant, who was sleeping in his room got burnt and died in the fire incident.

“The pictures of the victim and the building were taken,” he said.

The image maker said that the corpse had been evacuated and deposited at the morgue at General Hospital in Yaba for post mortem examination.

The spokesperson said that the cause of the fire was not yet known.

According to him, investigation is ongoing to unravel the circumstances surrounding the incident. (NAN)

By Adams Samuel, Abuja.

About 225 Nigerian youths have graduated from the School of Politics, Policy and Governance (SPPG).

The School of Politics, Policy, and Governance (SPPG) is an unconventional school designed to attract, develop and produce a new generation of political leaders who will listen and serve the new class of citizens who know their rights.

The 2024 graduation ceremony with the theme: “People, Politics, Policies and the Power of Words,” took place over the weekend at the Musa Yar’Adua centre in Abuja.

Delivering her keynote address, world renowned and multiple global award winning author, Chimamanda Adichie urged the graduands to use the knowledge and skills acquired in transforming the political and leadership sphere of Nigeria and the Africa continent at large.

She said the graduands in making the desired difference must be upright, fearless and always speak the truth to powers as well as using their voices to build the strength in the multi-ethnicity of Nigeria for the country’s growth, development and progress.

“Remember that living in a multiethnic country means being very considerate, I want you always to speak the truth.

“We, the very younger generation are now participating in rhetoric that is very dangerous for the unity of the country, it should not be so. Nigeria can in fact co-exist as a united multiethnic state. It is people like you that can make it happen.

“I hope that as you graduate, you will continue to say it is not okay that we have the kind of political conversations that some times happen in Nigeria. I urge you to opt out of it and say I am not going to do this or be part of it 

“The best kind of change happens when people say it is not okay,” she said.

The Founder, School of Politics, Policy and Governance, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili said, upcoming leaders must be knowledgeable enough in all aspects of life, policy and administration if they must change the existing narrative of politics and governance in Nigeria and Africa.

Dr. Ezekwesili noted that as trained leaders with the required tools to take Africa by storm, they must be ready to face resistance.

“We don’t want new breed politicians and leaders from SPPG without the knowledge of economics and economic policy,” she said.

The Chief Executive Officer, School of Politics, Policy and Governance, Alero Ayida-Otobo who asked the graduands not to forget the knowledge acquired during the ten months  hectic studies said, the certificate they were awarded is a call to action and responsibility for the change all Nigerians have been longing to see.

She urge them to be the unconventional leaders that create meaningful impact, shape policies, challenge injustice among other vices.

” I implore you to relentlessly pursue a future that marks you as different, to be value-driven public leader.

“As you embark on your leadership journey, please, I urge you to champion sustainable development, critical analyse information, engage in respectful discuss, listen to opposing views, collaborate across sectors and most importantly, foster inclusive solution,” Ayida-Otobo concluded.

The graduation ceremony also has a bilingual literature on politics, policy and governance written in English and French unveiled for the use of about 20 countries with SPPG in Africa and beyond

Mr Okechukwu Unegbu, a former president, Chattered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), has urged bank customers to approach the courts if they observe irregular deductions from their accounts.

Unegbu, who is also a former managing director of the defunct Citizens International Bank, gave the advice in an interview on Sunday in Abuja.

He spoke against the backdrop of complaints by bank customers on unexplained, multiple deductions from their accounts.

According to him, the best thing is for customers to initiate court cases against such banks, even while accepting that the justice system is slow.

“That bothers them a lot. In one instance, I won a case against First Bank and and they paid damages.

”The only problem is that the judiciary is slow,” he said.

Unegbu said that the best way to sort such issues out would have been through the bank customers association, which was not active.

According to him, the banks can charge five Naira or N10 per transaction; people see it as small, so they just ignore.

“But when you consider that they have millions of customers that they take such charges from, you will know that it is a lot of money for them,” he said.

He said that there were Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) guidelines on bank charges.

Unuegbu urged customers to take cognisance of the document and seek redress when they got charges outside the guidelines.

“That document explicitly states the legal charges that banks are entitled to from their customers.

“But most Nigerian banks charge much more than what is recommended, which is against all principles of banking.

”Such things do not happen abroad. And the problem is that most customers do not complain.

“If customers get such charges, they should start by writing to the banks to complain. Going to the bank physically might not yield any positive result.

“If customers can develop the habit of complaining, the banks will start learning,” he said.

He said that the CBN had a complaint desk for such issues, adding that the desk appears not to be very effective.

Meanwhile, findings from report revealed that there are charges approved by the apex bank across all banks in Nigeria.

According to the CBN guidelines, transactions below N5,000 will incur a maximum fee of N10; transfers between N5,000 and N50,000 will attract a charge of N25; and transfers beyond N50,000 will receive a charge of N50.

The guidelines state that account card maintenance cost has been eliminated because the accounts already have maintenance fees.

“Savings accounts will be charged a card maintenance cost of N50 every quarter rather than N50 every month.

“The annual card maintenance cost for cards denominated in foreign currency (FCY) has been reduced from 20 dollars to 10 dollars.

“There is no charge for Naira debit or credit cards linked to the current account.

“The fee for issuing a credit card is N1,000 (one-off charge), regardless of the type of card issued, whether premium or regular,” it said.

It said that the fee for reissuing lost or damaged cards (at the customer’s request) is N1,000 (one-off charge), while renewal fee when existing cards expire, was N1,000 (one-off charge).

“Monthly statements of account for current and savings accounts are required and are free of charge. Special statement of account request is a maximum N20 per page.

“SMS alert is mandatory. If a customer chooses not to receive SMS alerts, the consumer must provide the bank with an indemnity (for any damages that may occur as a result).

“There is no cost for receiving an email notification,” it said.

The CBN announced that any financial institution that violated any of the terms in the guidelines would be fined two million Naira per violation, or as the CBN may determine from time to time.

The bank advised customers to give deposit money banks at least two weeks to resolve any issues, failure of which it would intervene.

“If after lodging your complaint your bank still fails to engage you and resolve the complaint within two weeks, you have the right to escalate your complaint to the Consumer Protection Department (CPD) .

“Customers can contact the CPD by sending an email to cpd@cbn.gov.ng, contactcbn@cbn.gov.ng or call +234 7002255226. Customers can lodge a complaint directly on the CBN website,” it said. (NAN)